6/8/16

Babies and Other Things CURRENTLY Happening....

This little corner of the internet has been completely silent and forgotten about for several weeks and for good reason; we've been entirely preoccupied with a beautiful little girl who finally decided to make an appearance eleven days past her due date. And oh, let me tell you, in retrospect eleven days is nothing, for she has already been with us for three weeks and those weeks simply flew by!

Our little darling, Brooklyn Avonlea -- Brooklyn meaning "one who lives near the brook [Living Water]" and Avonlea, "a return to childlike faith, simple beauty, noble purity, and compassion for the least" -- was born at 5:49 pm on May 18th. She weighed 8 pounds and 4 ounces, and was 21 inches long. But she's been growing like a weed and is already at 10 pounds, which means her newborn clothes no longer fit. We are completely smitten with her, and already cannot remember what life was like without her as a part of our family.

I'll share her birth story (which includes BB guns and cowbirds in between contractions...) another time. For now we are simply going to catch up on what is currently happening in life.

Reading: I've got a whole list of books I could tell you about, from The Boy in Striped Pajamas to Mending Tomorrow and My Life's Journey -- a memoir my friend Hannelore wrote about her life as a young girl in war-torn Germany. Today, however, it's going to be Wild and Free.

Wild and Free, written by friends, Jess Connolly and Hayley Morgan, is a "Hope-filled anthem for the woman who feels she is both too much and never enough." As women we so often compare ourselves to those around us or limit ourselves because of culture captivity, not walking in the freedom and liberty and power Jesus intended for us. In this book Connolly and Morgan explore what it means to find freedom in Christ and to live it out, wholly, wildly, holding nothing back. They share personal stories, scripture passages and ways to apply these principles to your own life.

This book was sent to me by Book Look Bloggers in exchange for an honest review, so I will be honest and tell you I hard a really hard time getting into it. It's not that it didn't have within the pages truth and life and goodness, it did. But I felt like I had already read this book, its meaning told again and again in other words and by other authors. While the reviews on Instagram and Amazon are mostly five stars and quoted as "life changing" and "a must read" I'll be giving Wild and Free three stars out of five for the simple reason that it didn't captive me or impact my life in a huge or profound way.

(If you read this book I'd love to know your thoughts...)

Loving: My Wildbird ring sling. I didn't have a long list of items I felt I needed for a baby this time around. I discovered with Carson that less is more, that babies need clothes, milk, diapers, a whole lot of love, and not much else. He never had a crib or a fancy stroller or a rock n' play, or even a nursery for that matter -- all things I thought I had wanted but discovered I don't need. After Brooklyn was born people kept asking for gift ideas and my response was basically DIAPERS! But I also wanted to purchase a sling. I have a MobyWrap and an Ergo carrier, but the simplicity of the sling and the fact that its light weight and linen, which means it's comfortable to wear even in the heat of summer, sold me on it. I figured since I'll often been running after Carson, I will need both hands, which means baby wearing will happen a lot. A few people gave me money toward this purchase, and let me tell you, so far it's been worth every penny. Brooklyn LOVES to be worn and is so content in the sling. It's really easy to use, it's comfortable, and I think very attractive looking -- hello fashion accessory child. (I can't say the same about the Ergo or Moby.)
I was using the sling yesterday, and there was a bit of a diaper crisis, which meant the sling and Brooklyn's outfit and my shorts all needed to be washed. Those two hours of line drying time seemed like an eternity. I need at least one more sling for backup. Since the slings are a bit pricey, I am going to attempt making my own by copying this design. I'll let you know if it's a success.

Wishing: The very best to my little (and only) sister. Her and her boyfriend-turned-fiance just announced their engagement over the weekend. This summer will be filled with all things wedding! I find myself reminiscing my own engagement four years ago, when we were completely broke (not even joking) and crazy in love (or we thought we were, it just keeps getting better). What a wonderful season of life it was. What a wonderful season of life is still is.

Thinking about: My crazy week and the laundry disasters. (Yes, more than one.) It all started when we came home from a weekend out-of-town and I had a mountain of laundry to wash. I sorted it like I normally do; lights, darks, jeans, and towels, then I threw in a few shirts I had bought for Carson from Schoola. Since Schoola is second hand clothing I never even thought to wash the red items separately. Oops. It wasn't until I pulled the load out of the dryer that I noticed the pink hue to about 5 pieces of clothing. Oxi-clean, Melaleuca stain remover, and Dawn soap with peroxide have all failed the test. The stains are set, and pink is not my color.
Next I washed, dried, and SHRUNK my MobyWrap. Oops. This wasn't a terrible disaster, because the Moby is made to be one size fits all, so whenever I wore it the tail was extremely long. It'll only be a problem if I would sell or give the wrap to someone who is larger than a size 4, because now there really isn't tail to spare.
And finally, the third disaster. I washed towels yesterday and hung them out to dry. In the craziness of my day, I left the house and forgot to bring the wash in. When I came home many hours later my husband told me the dogs took care of it for me... Oops. And yup. Shredded towels for days.

You'd like after 15 years of doing laundry regularly I'd be a pro at this. Guess not.

Listening: To the soft, gentle purr of my newborn who is slung snugly against my chest, and thoroughly enjoyed the quiet as both kids are napping at the same time! Glory be!

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comments:

What a beautiful blessing! She's perfect! ❤️ And your stories...I love the way u tell stories and I chuckle and wish to comfort u all at the same moment. I thot I know doggie frustrations first hand but after your story I don't think I do after all. Beasties�� God bless u with great recovery and lots of energy to be the mama He enables u to be! I'm sure you're fantastic!

What am I up to? Summer things. VBS. Walks. Playing with the dogs. Those are the fun part of it, anyway. Little Brooklyn is absolutely beautiful. I like your name choices--and I will be looking forward to hearing more book reviews.

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